Dance with Me
by Ling Mao
Summary: To be held tight, to feel the warmth, a soft touch... The dim lights and soft music playing in the background. A dance... and the bitter sweet words...


===============  
===============  
Dance With Me  
By Ling Mao  
  
Start:5-21-2001  
Finish:5-29-2001  
  
Normal disclaimer applies  
  
= Thought  
= Sound  
[ ] = Panda signs  
" " = Spoken  
===============  
===============  
  
"I can't believe it... He finally asked me out!" shrieked a girl; she held   
her hands close to her body. Some of her friends circled around her and questioned   
her about it and giggling at the same time.  
  
"He just walked up to me and said 'do you want to go to the dance with me?'  
It was sooo cute. His eyes were begging like a puppy. I melted." The girl shrieked   
again and wiggled, trying to get some of the tingly feeling out of her.  
  
Akane sighed as she passed the girls. Ranma looked over his shoulder   
towards the girls, then back to the fence. He sighed a bit and brought his hands   
down from his head, placing them in front of his chest so that his fingers could   
circle around each other.  
  
"So... Akane... you goin to the dance?" Akane let out a 'huh' and turned to  
look at Ranma. Ranma avoided eye contact with Akane and looked forward instead. A   
small blush formed on her cheeks as she looked back down to the ground.  
  
"ah... well, no one's asked me yet." Akane sat softly. There was a pause   
and the sound of the rustling wind could be heard passing them. Ranma opened his   
lips, then closed them again.  
  
"Oh..." he finally replied. Akane frowned a bit at the waste of   
anticipation.   
  
"Are you going?"  
  
"Ah... Well I dunno... Hey Akane..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Never mind..."  
  
---------  
  
"We're home!" Ranma shouted as he threw his bag to the side. He slipped off   
his shoes and ran upstairs. Akane walked in not to long after Ranma. She propped   
her bag carefully on the wall.  
  
"Hey Akane!" shouted Nabiki from the kitchen.  
  
"What?" She took off her shoes and walked towards her sister.  
  
"One of your friends called, something about the school dance, the number   
is next to the phone."  
  
"Oh Ok, thanks Nabiki." Akane slowly walked to the phone, all the while   
contemplating what the call could have been for.  
  
Ring-Ring  
  
"Hello? Is Koyatai home?...Oh hi Tai! Hey you called before right?"  
  
"Yeah I did. Well you see me and a couple other people are going to the   
dance together and we wanted to know if you wanted to go with us."  
  
"Well... I dunno, I mean, I don't have anyone to go with..."  
  
"What? You gotta be kidding me. Did you say no to everyone."  
  
"Sorta..."  
  
"Did Ranma ask you?" There was a moment of silence.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Oh... Well that's ok, just come along anyways. Please Akane, it'll be fun.  
I promise." Akane sighed, she just couldn't say no to a friend.  
  
"I guess..."  
  
"Yay! Ok, well don't forget the dance is a week from now. Were gonna go   
shopping for costume and accessories tomorrow, wanna come?"  
  
"Well I guess I don't have much of a choice do I?" The two laughed a bit,   
and the conversation swayed towards other topics.  
  
"Well I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Ok Bye!" Click Akane put the phone back down.  
  
"Who were you talking to huh?" Ranma popped out of the doorway not to far   
from Akane. Akane gasped a bit from the sudden call.  
  
"Geez Ranma! It's none of your business! Humph." Akane turned and ran up   
stairs.  
  
"Yeah well WHATEVER!" Ranma shouted. "Stupid tomboy..." He said under his   
breath.  
  
---  
  
"hummm...No this isn't good." Akane tossed another paper into the trash.   
She was attempting to draw her outfit for the dance, but to no avail. She left out   
a long sigh.  
  
"I'll never get this done. I guess I could go any buy a costume..." She   
sighed again. Where was suppose to get the money? Not like it really mattered what   
she wore. No one was going to ask her. Well at least no one she'd say yes to. She   
leaned both her elbows on her desk and allowed her hands to hold up her head.  
  
"This is going to be impossible..."  
  
--------  
  
Days went by. Talk about the dance increased. It seemed as if everyone had   
someone to go with. Well, everyone except Akane. By the time the dance did come the   
only thing Akane had was a costume.  
  
Akane stood in the mirror examining her costume. She was a princess.   
Perhaps it wasn't very creative, but it was the easiest thing to make. With the   
help of Kasumi, the costume didn't turn out that bad. The white dress was   
sleeveless. The bottom of the dress puffed out and curves of fabric were pinned up   
so that semi-circles of fabric hung near the bottom of her dress. Her gloves were   
long, about three quarters up her arm. Her white high heels had one strap near the   
toes and another above her ankle. To top it all off she wore a small tiara on her   
head, which was a triangular shape and at the apex of the tiara stood a red jewel.   
Well actually it was a bead, but it looked like a jewel. She sighed, fingering her   
dress. Sure it was a nice dress in all. And it was fun working with Kasumi to make   
it, even if Kasumi did most of the work. And all her friends were going to the   
dance. But it just didn't feel right. No one, with the exception of Kuno had asked   
her to the dance. She felt, well, left out. Rejected. She looked down at her dress   
and pushed down the wrinkles that formed. She sighed again, she'd been doing that a  
lot lately, and walked out of her room. She carefully walked down the stairs,   
making sure she didn't trip.  
  
Downstairs, Ranma lay on his belly watching television. He turned towards   
Akane.  
  
"Where ya going Akane?" Akane let out a small frown.  
  
"To the dance."  
  
"Who you goin with?" Akane looked around a bit, hoping to avoid the   
question.  
  
"Sorry Ranma, don't have time, gotta run." She quickly walked out of the   
room and soon out the room. Ranma flipped onto his back, then stood up. He watched   
Akane run out the door, then went up to his room and grabbed a brown paper bag. He   
hugged it with both arms, squeezing it lightly. Wait for me.  
  
--------  
  
Akane walked back to the corner. Yet another person had asked to dance with  
her. She was starting to get tired. It seemed all the boys had the guts to ask her   
to dance, but no one wanted to be her date. She leaned her weight against the wall,   
her hands behind her. She looked up at the clock. 11:54. She looked down again.   
Soon, soon it'd be over and she could go home. Being at the dance began to drag her   
down. Whenever the slow dances came along, everyone would go to their dates. Not   
like she had one or anything, so she just stood on the side, watching everyone   
dance.  
  
"Okay everyone, this is the last song of the night. Everyone pair up with   
your dates, we'll make this nice and slow." The music began as couples join the   
dance floor. Akane sighed. She might as well leave now. She had no business here.   
She stood from her leaning position and began to walk out, but was stopped as a man  
stood in front of her. He bowed his head a bit and held out his hand. Akane looked   
at him wearily.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm rather tired and I'd..."  
  
"Please." The man said roughly, still with his head slightly bowed. The man   
wore the classic tuxedo like suit with a mask. He wore white gloves and his white   
mask covered the nose and up, leaving holes where the eyes were.  
  
"But I..." The man looked up at her, gazing into her eyes. Akane was   
trapped. She looked down and nodded as yet another person dragged her onto the   
floor. They stopped not to far from the entrances. The man took Akane's arms and   
hung them around his neck. Slowly and cautiously he put his hands on her hips.   
  
Kyou,  
Ame ga furi-dashita no dakara  
yakusoku yabutte ie ni ita no Mmm  
  
They were rather distanced. The two sung slowly as the soft beat of the   
music drowned out the rest of the world. The man slowly moved his hands past her   
hips and towards his back, bringing them closer.   
  
Gomen,  
Kirai ni natta no ja nakute  
nantonaku sou shitakatta  
  
Akane's face looked towards the side. I wish Ranma had asked me... The   
man frowned at Akane's lack of attention.   
  
hana wo ichirin kazatte mita no  
Potari to shizuku namida mitai ni  
  
Again he moved to get closer. Akane's hands slide down a bit, and were   
pressed against the man's chest. The man encircled her with his arms and caused her  
body to be pressed against his.   
  
hinageshi no hana de nakute yokkata  
mujaki ni saku ki ne wa narenai  
  
Akane didn't fight it. Instead she moved closer and pressed her nose   
against the man's collarbone. The man tilted his head a bit a smelt Akane's   
intoxicating hair. For a moment he looked as if in heaven, but then felt a bit of   
shaking, and soon his shoulder began to feel a bit moist.   
  
na mo nai sono hana wa watashi mitai ne  
hissori hitori inoru no  
  
He reluctantly pushed away a bit in order to see Akane's face. Akane moved   
one hand and brushed away the trickles of tears that dripped from her eyes.  
  
"I-I'm sorry." She said as she pushed away from the man, but he did not   
budge.  
  
"What's wrong?" The man softly asked. Akane looked at him. Ranma... She   
shook her head, ridding herself of the thought.  
  
"No... No, I have to go now..." She pushed away again, but still the man   
held on to her.  
  
"Don't cry..." He cooed. He gently brushed her dangling hair behind her   
ear. "He's sorry... I promise..." He put his hand on her cheek and moved in,   
pressing there lips together. A tornado of emotions ran through Akane's mind. She   
quickly pushed the man away and ran out the door, leaving him behind. She wiped the  
tears from her eyes as she ran out of the door. She stopped and rubbed her eyes.   
I'm so stupid... Why'd I bother to come... She sniffled and took off her tiara.   
She held it in front of her. Princesses aren't suppose to cry. She smiled   
sorrowfully and tossed the plastic aside. I might as well go home... She said as   
she began to walk, but soon stopped. On the ground not to far from her lay a single  
yellow rose, attached to it a note. She walked to it and bent over to pick it up.   
Who could have dropped this... She turned towards the note, which the rose's stem  
had pierced through.  
  
'Akane-  
You are loved.'  
  
Akane stared at the note, then read it again. She looked up towards the sky  
where the bright stars danced with the night. She hugged the rose and took a   
breath. She began her walk home.  
  
When she got home, everyone was already asleep. She was tired. She quickly   
unbuckled her shoes and went to her room, hopping onto her bed, not bothering to   
change. Her dress puffed out everywhere. Her head faced towards the side and one   
hand lay on her stomach while the other dangled freely. She shut her eyes and it   
was only a matter of minutes before she was carried off into the dream world.  
  
And this was how Ranma found Akane. He tip toed into her room and closed   
her door ever so quietly. He walked towards Akane's bed and looked at Akane. Her   
chest rose as she sucked in small breaths of air. He went to move Akane's arm,   
which dangled off her bed. He placed the arm on top of the other. He pulled his   
other arm forward and peered at the red rose he held. He read the note to himself.  
  
'To Akane:  
The way your eyes flutters  
The way you face glitters  
It makes my heart pound  
More than you could ever know  
I love the way you laugh  
I love the way you smile  
I love the way you touch  
I love the way you smell  
You make my heart ache the pain  
Pain of knowing that you'd never feel the same  
Pain of knowing I would, no I could tell you  
To tell you the thing I want to tell you the most  
Akane Tendo, I love you  
And the thing I would want to do the most  
Is to make you Akane Saotome-  
  
He looked down at the rose and carefully placed it between Akane's   
overlapping hands. He took the mask off from his face and placed it on the desk and  
leaned over to look at Akane's face. She's so beautiful He looked back at the   
rose.   
  
He leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips against Akane's. Akane's   
face flinched, then went back into a state of slumber. Ranma sat and fought with   
himself for a bit and after a bit of thinking he reached down towards the rose and   
pulled the note from the rose. He crumpled the paper and tossed it into her garbage  
and sighed. He stood up and gave one last glance towards Akane before leaving for   
his room. He silently shut the door to the room, leaving Akane to her dreams. Her   
dreams of the one she loves most.   
  
Unconsciously she tighten her grip around the rose and let out a longing   
sigh. The night wind whistles past the glowing moon, whose light seeps into the   
sleeping girl's room, giving it a soft light. On her desk a white mask gleams   
lightly. The string of light beams down further into the room, leaving a small   
streak of light on her desk, she shoes, and then her trashcan as if pointing the   
way. A sign. A small sign that perhaps there's something more. Perhaps the things   
that one should know the most are hidden away. Or perhaps the things we want to   
know are closer than we think. The truth is always near. It's just a matter of   
whether the heart will accept it or not. And even if today it didn't happen, there   
is still tomorrow. For tomorrow is a new day, a new start, and a new chance, for   
love doesn't age. Love doesn't grow old. Love is forever, it's stories etched in   
the walls of the heart. Love lasts for an eternity. It will repeat again and again,  
as many times as it takes, because love is... Love.  
  
----------  
Notes: I think listen to too much music has mushed my head... I didn't really like   
the ending piece... Any suggestions on how I should change it? I think I make Akane   
cry too much... sigh I'm having a brain buzz, I just can't write, so I have to   
write until my head explodes then I can write again. It may be a bit before I get   
more chapters for 'Key to my Heart' and 'Love Pills'...   
  
Hey, I'm working on a web page but I don't know where to host it. Does anyone know   
a good host that won't kill me with banners and stuff, but will still give me   
freedom with my page? - If you do, could you e-mail me? (my e-mail is   
Blaz1nangl@aol.com use a subject like... I dunno, WEB HOSTER FOR FANFICTION... -_-   
well as long as the word fanfiction is there, I probably won't delete it...)  
  
Anyways... I'd love to hear comments. Thanks for reading~  
  
p.s.- the song is from the Ranma series ending called "red poppy". There wasn't   
really a connection, I just like the song... ^_^ Okies- Ja  



End file.
